HOUSTON — Houston Mayor John Whitmire joined Police Chief J. Noe Diaz and investigators Wednesday afternoon for an update on a drive-by shooting that left three people dead and eight others injured last month.
The shooting happened during a Sept. 14 block party on Laura Koppe Road at Lockwood Drive.
On Wednesday, authorities announced that three suspects had been charged in connection with the shooting.
Javion Tyrus Noel, 21, Jakalyn Willis, 20, and Markielo Jamal Reynolds, 20, are charged with capital murder. Once charges were filed, investigators said they found out that all three suspects were already in custody -- Noel was in the Harris County Jail on an unrelated charge while Willis and Reynolds were in jail in Los Angeles on unrelated charges.
Houston police believe the trio is responsible for crimes across the country.
"In summary, what we learned is these individuals were wreaking havoc across the country and were wanted by multiple agencies. I'm pleased to tell you today that they are all in custody and they will no longer be terrorizing the people of this city of the people of this country," HPD Sgt. Adam Dudley said.
Investigators said they tracked the suspect vehicle using Flock cameras and surveillance videos in the area.
Jarvis Faultry, 24, Breon Stuard, 23, and Marlon Jackson, 24, were killed in the shooting. Seven other men, ages 49, 45, 43, 30, 25, 22 and 24, and one woman, 43, were shot but are expected to survive their injuries.
The motive of the shooting remains unclear.
The shooting
On the day of the shooting, police said a vehicle pulled up to the party and people inside started shooting at the crowd of people at the party. Investigators at the time believed there were at least three suspects based on the shell casings recovered from the scene.
A woman who witnessed the shooting told KHOU 11 it was chaotic.
"I was thinking, 'Just stay low and try to live,'" said Sanaa Hillary. "I had to crawl. I scratched up my knees, my shoe broke and I hid behind a car."
The vehicle involved was last seen driving west on Laura Koppe toward I-59. Investigators said surveillance video in the area was low quality, making it hard to give a good description of the suspects.
"It breaks my heart that there is a bunch of people out here behaving, having a good time, minding their business, and the next thing you know everyone is scattering because of gunfire," HPD Detective Heaverlo said the day of the shooting. "This didn't need to happen, it shouldn't have happened."
Watch the update police gave at the scene: